WAILUA University of Hawaiis Justin Arcano and Cameron Kaneko each fired a one-over par 73 to lead the Rainbow Warriors to a fifth place finish at the Big West Conference Championship that wrapped up Tuesday at Wailua Golf Course.
WAILUA — University of Hawaii’s Justin Arcano and Cameron Kaneko each fired a one-over par 73 to lead the Rainbow Warriors to a fifth place finish at the Big West Conference Championship that wrapped up Tuesday at Wailua Golf Course.
The tournament’s host Hawaii improved from its 36-hole performance Monday, firing the best team showing over 54 holes with a combined 295 in the final round to finish at 895, a stroke better than Long Beach State and CSU-Northridge.
Arcano finished the tournament tied for fifth with a two-day 219 (74-72-73), and Kaneko ended tied for 20th place with a 226 (78-75-73). Matt Lloyd, tied with Arcano following two rounds, finished the final round with a 74 to end tied for eighth place at 220 (69-77-74). Other contributing golfers included Justin Ngan (77-79-76-232) and Nickolaus Nelson (85-77-80-242).
California State University-Fullerton roared back in the final round to outgun the defending champion University of California Irvine, 284-298 to capture the championship with a 54-hole total 876, fueled by the tournament’s individual leader Matt Wilson firing a two-day 211 (75-68-68).
Anthony Truong, finishing fourth at 218 (71-76-71), fired a one-under in the final round to lead UC Irvine to its 884 (288-298-298) total, just two strokes better than UC Davis who finished third with a team 886 (295-296-295).
This was the first time the University of Hawaii hosted the conference championships since 2002, and its fifth-place finish was the best showing the men demonstrated in the Big West Championship after placing sixth in 2013 and 2014.
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Dennis Fujimoto, staff writer and photographer, can be reached at 245-0453 or dfujimoto@thegardenisland.com.